Come Fly With Me

My cousin retired and celebrated
his 65th birthday on Monday!

Here is the mini album I created for him.

Thanks, Frank Sinatra,

this title was quite fitting.

Many moons ago, in 1992,

Mike was working toward his 737 Type Rating

so that he could fly commercial

after his retirement from the Air Force.

It just so happened that I was in Tucson

at that time and he took me up in this

itty-bitty little plane.

(Of course, this was before I became deathly afraid to fly!)

Here is Mike on the step ladder fueling.

What you can't see is me also standing

on a step ladder.

(I'm under the red arrow - and you can see one leg.)

Since this album is all about him

and not all about me, I covered me up.

You can see his hand at the controls

and in the driver's seat.

The pull-out tag is one of his quotes.

Touch and Go.

WOW - what an experience that was! 

Here is his business card

as well as a copy of his badge.

I'm sure every minute up in the sky

was A Day to Remember! 

If you read closely,

he certainly has something to be proud of.

He was named Pilot of the Quarter in 2009.

What an accomplishment! 

Congratulations, Mike!

In this picture, he is pointing at his name.

And he most definitely is a well-traveled guy. 

I'm not sure of the exact date,

but it has to be 20+ years ago.

Looks like his granddaughter got to fly

on the Buddy Pass. 

Aren't these planes great

all lined up?

Love this picture. 

And a copy of his Medical Certificate.

The plane was a pin

with the pin part trimmed off. 

I'm sure Mike has many, many moments

he will remember for a lifetime.

Like I said, his retirement date

and his birthday fell on the same day.

Happy birthday! 

I'm not sure why his wife asked for two extra pages

in the album, but here they are.

I am hoping he will use them

to add some comments of his own.

One thing for sure,

Southwest Airlines has some beautiful planes.

And he was mighty lucky to fly them.

Happy retirement.

Happy birthday, Mike.

Come Fly With Me

Album: Engagement, Wedding and Honeymoon

Okay - let's finish up the honeymoon
portion of this album.
Once you get to the end of this post,
you will have seen the entire album.

I think they were in Santa Fe for this picture.

Such a great place to spend part of a honeymoon.

I may be wrong,

but I think this was also taken in Santa Fe.

This just might be one of my favorite pages.

What a trip for sure.

They squeezed in so much.

Many memories to last them a lifetime. 

On the road again …

Recognize this place? 

Yes, they do look happy today!?!

I said one of the above pages was my favorite

but now that I revisit this page,

maybe I have two favorites!

That's allowed, right?

I was asked to include

their wedding song in the album.

Perfect spot was on the back cover.

I've never heard these lyrics, but I'm sure lots of brides

will be choosing it for their weddings. 

And last but not least,

here's a side peek of the album.

Thank you for hanging in there

and coming back day after day to look at everything.

Kadey and Austin, my wish for you

is that you have the best marriage.

Keep on honeymooning!

Album: Engagement, Wedding and Honeymoon

Let's hop in the car with the honeymooners and head out West.

They certainly did see some magnificent sites.

I'll be posting the honeymoon pictures in increments.

Just too many to share at one time.

Just look at the background.

Isn't it beautiful?

And - oh … don't they look happy
and so in love?

Of all the pictures I was given,

this wasn't in the group.

But once I went to their FB page and I saw this,

I had to print and include.

It's my favorite! 

Of course Forever & Always. 

Forever.

The tag on the right looks very tropical

but the scenery is not.

but I love the bird and the beautiful colors. 

How pretty does she look here? 

All snuggled up! 

Be in love with today and every day! 

Will finish out the honeymoon pictures later today.

Please come back!

Album: Engagement, Wedding and Honeymoon

I so enjoyed the shopping for this album.
I sort of knew what colors I wanted to use.
And the theme.
But wasn't positive.

Initially I bought three paper pads
AND all the embellishments to go
with each pad and color scheme.

Then I decided on a pad from Prima.
It was romantic.
Yet I could grunge it up a little bit for the honeymoon.

Then it was back to the stores
to return what I wasn't going to use.
What a process!

Let's just jump right in and have ourselves a wedding.

I just love how they are looking into each others' eyes.

Love!

Mr. and Mrs.

Don't they all look so happy?

It definitely was a magical moment.

Oh yes - THE KISS. 

Husband and wife. 

Wonderful memories

to last a lifetime.

I'm sure their hearts were bursting with love. 

Once again, there was a common denominator on these pages.

Can you spot them?

There are a dozen.

Be sure to come back tomorrow

to see part one of the honeymoon!

Album: Engagement, Wedding and Honeymoon

… all wrapped up in one mini - errrrrrr, not so mini album.

I was asked to create an album
for her nephew and his love.
She wanted me to incorporate the engagement,
the wedding and the honeymoon.

It took me longer than I wanted
but two hospital visits
and two months of being "under the weather"
prevented me from being more timely.

But once I got started,
there was no stopping me.

Even after I finished every page,
I felt like I wanted more.
I went through ever container,
every box, every basket, every bin
searching for just the right piece for each page.
All of that took about another four days.
Then I decided enough was enough.

There's just so much to this that I'll have to share in increments.

First up, of course, is the spine and the front cover

followed by the engagement.

If you've seen any of my work,

you know it has to have flowers.

Lots of flowers.

I couldn't find a large enough flower

for the cover.

So what did I do?

I made that large one and the one below it.

Can't you just feel the love?

And the nerves?

There were only so many pages to the album

and I had so many pictures I wanted to use

so I had to get creative.

I felt like I needed an engineering degree

to figure out where I needed to go with this.

Fortunately, there was a gap

between the pages and the spine

which allowed me to thread fibers

through that gap to attach some smaller pages.

It worked!

Love seeing a man down on his knees

asking the most important question

he will ever ask!

Judging by the huge hug,

I'm assuming she said "yes!" 

I'd say he did alright for himself.

This ring is stunning! 

I'm not positive that this picture was taken

after the engagement or not

but that's the sequence I was given them.

Either way, it works. 

So glad the family was there to witness

such a wonderful occasion. 

Did you notice a common denominator in these pictures?
I think there are 18 of them.
(Not the first two pictures, but the remaining.)

That's all, folks!

Stay tuned tomorrow for wedding pictures.

I don't want you to lose interest by looking at

so many pictures on the first day.